The trial-and-error method isn’t something that can necessarily work in a sport like F1, where every decision is made considering the minutest of details. So when Mercedes turned up in Bahrain for the first race of the season in a car that was seven-tenths slower than Max Verstappen’s Red Bull, it knew it had to regroup. And Lewis Hamilton was the first person to say it out loud. The Brackley outfit had to start all over.

F1 was set to race at Imola a week before Monaco. But due to the floods there, the race has been postponed. So instead of a two-week break between races, teams got an extra week before the Monaco GP, and Mercedes used that time to its full potential.

Toto Wolff reveals Mercedes had to revamp its car completely after Lewis Hamilton’s advice 

Mercedes was in a tough spot after the Bahrain GP. Its worries about being only the fourth-fastest car on the grid this season were confirmed. After qualifying in Bahrain, Toto Wolff spoke to the media, saying, as quoted by Speedcafe, “I don’t think that this package is going to be competitive eventually.” While the original W14 seemed to be making progress in small steps in every race, it had hit all its development targets without making any significant progress toward getting faster. Mercedes had no option but to regroup.

At the Monaco GP, Mercedes showed up with a practically new car. It featured new side pods, a new floor, and a new front suspension. But due to the nature of the circuit, the team couldn’t gauge the effectiveness of its upgrades. They carried forward the same upgrades to the Spanish GP the following weekend, where they debuted a new diffuser. And this was where the real impact of their hard work was showcased. The Brackley team achieved their best result of the season so far—a P2 for Lewis Hamilton and a P3 for George Russell.

After the race, Wolff opened up about how the team took such a big step in just three weeks. “We took some decisions to go in another direction. We concentrated on what we think we know well. It’s all down to the engineering work and operations and all the other engineers to bring the car together. The wake-up call at the beginning of the season was good.”

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Russell has mentioned in the past that Mercedes has the best team when it comes to developing the car. And the strides Mercedes has made since the start of the season are just a testament to that statement. But will Mercedes get good enough to compete against Red Bull this season?

Lewis Hamilton & Co. is being realistic about their chances of challenging Red Bull

Red Bull has dominated every race in 2023 and is only getting faster as the season progresses. So when Wolff was asked if Mercedes can catch up to Red Bull this season, given their super development pace, he admitted the team needs to have realistic goals. 

“We need to be realistic. The temperatures [in Spain] really suited us; it was nice and fresh. Not too cold. Not too hot. The car was in the absolute mega window. So let’s keep our expectations real. There’s such a long way to go in order to catch Red Bull, but it’s a good moment to see that the development direction is right.”

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While catching Red Bull is the ultimate goal, he just expressed his pride and belief in the team and in the job they’ve done to improve. Can Mercedes make further steps in the upcoming races to solidify their P2 in the Constructors’ Championship?